Wanted: A Senate health-care leader

The Democrat-versus-Democrat battle over Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus’s health care proposal is more than just political posturing: It’s the latest sign that Senate Democrats so far lack a clear public leader on the issue at a crucial time in the debate.

Part of the problem facing Senate Democrats is institutional; unlike the House, the Senate is a body that gives each member great power to influence the legislative process — significantly limiting the power of leaders. Another part of the problem is the sweeping nature of the issue: Health care reform falls into the jurisdiction of several House and Senate committees, putting far more cooks in the kitchen than on most other matters on Capitol Hill.

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And part of the problem is personnel. In Sen. Ted Kennedy, Democrats had a man of “unusual influence for many reasons — his knowledge, his discipline, his friendships, his experience,” said Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.).

Without him, there are individual Democratic senators playing leading roles in certain parts of the debate, but no overall go-to guy — a figure who could serve as a trusted public leader on the issue, providing a clear argument for the bill across the airwaves and acting as the chief deal maker behind the scenes.

Baucus, a moderate who cut deals with President George W. Bush over Medicare legislation and tax cuts, has long been distrusted by his party’s liberals — and the thought of him leading the Senate on the biggest domestic issue in years is making the stomachs of some of them turn.

Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is trusted by his caucus, and he’s moving aggressively behind the scenes to soothe concerns of possible defectors. But in public, Reid, who faces a tough reelection next year, has taken a hands-off role as the bill works its way through the committee process — and has not driven the policy debate.

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), who filled in for Kennedy this summer to draft a competing health care bill, now is turning more of his attention toward financial regulatory reform.

And while President Barack Obama has laid out his vision for health care reform, he’s allowing the Senate to fill in the details without offering a written plan himself — exposing the White House and the Democratic leadership to attacks that no one is really leading.

“It’s pretty hard to lead the Senate if you don’t get the leadership out of the White House,” said Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.).

With the health care bill now at a pivotal moment as Finance Committee deliberations start Tuesday, Senate Democratic leaders and the White House are working intensely behind the scenes to keep the Senate’s Democratic Caucus from fraying along ideological lines. The idea: Soothe concerns of wayward senators by hearing them out and assuring them that they will have ample opportunity to change the bill to their liking by allowing the process to advance.

Democratic senators who speak out against the process or seriously question the health care efforts can expect to hear from the president and their leadership.